


Even a Worm Will Turn

by Luxraays



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), i decided to use slash tags bc if u squint theres stuff there, sylworm, worm on a string - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22646146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxraays/pseuds/Luxraays
Summary: Sylvain gets turned into a worm.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Claude von Riegan, Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Claude von Riegan, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier/Claude von Riegan, Sylvain Jose Gautier & Claude von Riegan, Sylvain Jose Gautier/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 58





	Even a Worm Will Turn

Claude likes to think his room isn’t the worst off. 

Sure, it’s a little on the messier side with books stacked in odd places here and there. Several are spread out all over the bed or piled up on the floor, since there’s no more room to cram them into the bookshelves. But it’s not that bad! It’s a sign that the room is being lived in and that it’s being put to good use. That’s how Claude feels about it anyway.

His potion making assistant and bf (bro friend) Sylvain Jose Gautier says otherwise. He always makes a fuss about it whenever he comes to visit. 

_“Where do you even sleep?”_ He’d complain as he carefully tip toes around the place, and Claude would just chuckle before making some light remark about how it gives his dorm character.

However, there’s one spot in his space that he keeps clean at all times: his beloved desk where his little potion cauldron rests. It always stays put there no matter what. Claude’s never had to move it around and he doesn’t plan to change things up for a long while.

So naturally, it’s a surprise when he returns after an impromptu supply run to the greenhouse and finds it toppled over, the cauldron’s contents spilled across the floor. Thick plumes of smoke quickly dissipate from one concentrated spot on the golden rug to reveal something small and definitely _alive_ , wriggling in place. 

Claude’s immediately alert. Something new and possibly unknown is in his room, and he steps inside carefully to investigate. As the last of the smoke clears and the potion evaporates, he can finally see that the thing on the floor is...a reddish orange toy worm. Huh.

There was only one other person in his room helping Claude right before he left, so it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together and figure out that this worm is in fact, without a doubt—

“Sylvain?”

No answer. Sylvain is just laying there.

“Are you okay? What happened here?”

Again, Sylvain is just laying there. 

It’s only when Claude finally reaches out to pick up the fuzzy worm that it comes to life, flopping pathetically in his hands. Sylworm (or maybe Wormvain, Claude thinks) curls around the man’s thumb and stares at him with his plastic googly eyes. 

“Can you hear me?” Wait, of course he can’t. He doesn’t have ears! The worm, like all other worms, doesn’t have a mouth to respond either, but he bets this one in particular is internally screaming right about now. Claude’s not sure how any of this works, but he’ll have to ask when he turns Sylvain back. _If_ he can turn Sylvain back.

In the meantime, he inspects the damage done. Above where the cauldron once stood is a shelf that the house leader uses to keep various trinkets, and a few have been knocked over or have gone missing. Claude uses his big sexy brain to deduce that Sylvain bumped into it as well as the cauldron, which then caused stuff to drop into the concoction, turning him into this...this sad yet adorable little creature. “Don’t worry Sylvain, I’ll find a way to change you back to normal.” 

As if on cue, Felix bursts into the room, having passed by and overhearing the commotion about Sylvain. Claude and Sylworm both swivel their heads towards the doorway and freeze. It’s a funny scenario, really, with the way Claude’s got a toy worm in his grip as he stands in the middle of a trashed room.

“What’s going on.” Felix’s tone makes it sound more like a demand than a question. Claude just grins innocently at him and waves with the toy in hand.

Sylworm writhes in embarrassment.

\-----------------

“So what you’re saying,” Felix says slowly, as if it would make Claude come to his senses by hearing this crazy statement be uttered out of someone else’s mouth, “is that this is Sylvain.”

“Yes.”

“Sylvain is this...worm.” Sharp copper brown eyes meet plastic ones and Sylworm feels himself being scrutinized by such an intense gaze. He curls up a little to hide his exposed body and realizes, _Hang on, where are my clothes? Am I technically naked?_ But this thought goes unheard by the other two students, who continue to bicker.

“Yes, Felix. This is Sylvain.”

“He’s this orange toy worm.”

“We’ve been over this for the billionth time already,” Claude throws his hands up in exasperation-- which is admittedly a bad move because Sylworm is still in his grip, so the little guy gets dangled around like crazy. “Sylvain spilled a botched potion on himself and got turned into this thing.”

_Please. For the love of Goddess,_ Sylworm thinks as his googly eyes rattle like maracas, _stop waving me around!_

It doesn’t actually hurt or anything, but it’s making his vision go all over the place. Having been transformed into a sentient toy, Sylworm has lost most of his senses but still feels like he retained some, even if they’re obviously gone. Such as right now, he can feel himself being held in Claude’s warm hands, but he can’t feel pain when he gets squeezed too tight. It still feels like he’s breathing too, and he can move around a little (somehow, because he no longer has a face, organs, or muscle for that matter), but he supposes that some things are better off not being looked into as much.

Felix stares at Claude like he’s gone and grown a second head, because he’s heard of potions that heal people, increase a person’s strength, or poison a victim, but he’s never, _ever_ heard of a potion turning people into worms. _Toy_ worms at that. Not that he knows all too much about these kinds of things anyway. See, this is why he’s a sword guy. They’re simple and reliable, unlike a certain redhead who’s been skipping out on training, nevermind the fact that he promised to finally stop slacking off. Speaking of which… 

“You’re just pulling a prank, aren’t you?” Felix huffs and gets ready to leave, “Find someone else to meddle with, I need to get back to my training. If you see Sylvain, tell him to come to the training grounds.”

_No! Don’t leave!_ The crest of Gautier flashes right before everyone’s eyes as Sylworm flings himself out of Claude’s hands. He darts towards Felix with a speed that rivals that of an arrow, very much like an actual toy worm being pulled by, well, a string. 

Felix yelps as the fuzzy thing slaps against his face _hard_ , and the force of impact is enough to send the swordsman to the ground. Felix got KO’ed. Headshotted by a worm. Claude gasps, and then bursts out laughing at the situation. In the back of his mind, though, he may or may not be thinking about the practical aspects of bringing these things into battle.

The swordsman crosses his eyes as the toy worm scoots across his face, peering down with pleading, innocent (as much as a worm can be, anyway) eyes inches away from his own. Paired with its tapered snout, it’s a rather adorable look, and Felix has always been a guy to have a soft spot for anything smaller than him. He’ll never admit that of course.

“Ugh, okay. I believe you,” Felix groans as he sits up. Sylworm somehow still clings to his face, so he has to pluck him off. There’s a stinging ‘S’ shape red mark on Felix’s cheek where Sylworm minor crested the shit out of him, and neither Claude nor the worm decide to point this out. “Only Sylvain could make a worm’s face look as ridiculous as that.” 

“Great! So you’ll help find a way to turn him back, right?” Claude beams and extends a hand out for Felix, but it ends up falling to his side when the swordsman opts to stand up by himself instead.

“Obviously,” Felix scoffs. “What do we need to do?”

  
  
“That’s the thing,” Claude smiles, but he has enough sense to be sheepish about it. “I...have no idea how to turn him back. But I’m sure there’s something in these books that’ll change him back,” the house leader nudges a stack of books with his foot, “...maybe.”

The thing is though, Claude’s room is filled to the brim with them. Felix looks like he’s aged several years at that response.

\-----------------

Three hours later, Sylvain is still a worm. 

The scene: Claude, Felix, and Sylworm are sprawled out in different corners of the room, leafing through all of Claude’s texts about potions and transfiguration spells. They’ve gone through several stacks of books already and have produced no results. Morale is quite low, just like their chances of finding a cure for Sylvain. 

But it’s not so bad being a worm. Sure, he’s lost his limbs and the ability to speak, but he still has his charm and good looks! Girls love cute fuzzy animals with big eyes right? He’s pretty much set.

_Heh, check it out guys,_ Sylworm wriggles across a page to read the next excerpt, _I’m a bookworm! Get it?_

“I can’t find anything,” Felix’s curt voice breaks the silence and he snaps his book shut. “This is a waste of time. Let’s just go ask a professor for help.”

  
  
“Hang on,” Claude sits up straight, index finger pointed to the air like he’s got a solution. Okay, maybe it’s not an actual solution, per se. He’s stalling because he’d really prefer to get a professor as a last resort. It’ll be the end of his potion making hobby if the school finds out about this! Not that it would actually stop him from continuing, anyway. “I have an idea.”

“Okay. Let me hear it.”

“I need you to promise that you won’t gut me with your sword first.”

“I can’t guarantee that won’t happen.”

“Fair enough! Alright, just hear me out: What if… what if someone kissed him?”

The silence that fills the room is suffocating. Claude prepares himself in case Felix decides to knock him with a book or something, because that seems like a Felix thing to do.

“That--” Felix gets up and snatches Sylworm, using him to point at Claude decisively. Sylworm’s eyes rattle everywhere and he thinks he has the worm equivalent of a headache now. “--is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I expected something like that to come from Sylvain, but you? Really?” 

_Hey! I, for one, think Claude’s idea is solid!_ Sylworm’s totally not thinking this because he wants a smooch from the school’s cutest students or anything, pssh. But he _is_ rather conflicted about what to do. While he does want to change back as soon as possible, he’d like to salvage whatever remains of his dignity and keep all of this under wraps, thank you very much. 

“Listen, it makes sense! Haven’t you read tales of frogs turned back into princes after a kiss? A beast breaking his curse after an act of true love? We won’t know until we try it, Felix.” Claude instantly holds up a book as his only means of defense, because he’s seen the way Sylworm can shoot forward and it’s absolutely terrifying. No worm should ever have that kind of power. 

“Those are all kid stories, Claude. None of that’s real. It’s _fantasy_.”

“Really? You don’t believe in any of that?” Claude says incredulously. He himself doesn’t necessarily believe in those either, but when one lives in a world with magic spells and wyverns… it’s pretty plausible. “You’ll shoot lightning out of your fingers and watch Professor Hanneman turn a rock into quartz, but a kiss to break a curse is what’s unrealistic to you?”

“Even if it were real, who’s going to be the one to kiss Sylvain?”

“ _You_ could kiss him.” When Claude suggests that, Felix makes a horrified face.

“No. I don’t know where he’s been.”

“Okay, then I’ll do it.” Claude holds out his hand once again for Felix to hand over the worm. But because Felix is Like That, he frowns and holds Sylworm away. 

“You’re not kissing him either.”

“Then who’s going to do it?”

  
  
“ _No one_ is going to do it because a magic kiss is fake!”

  
  
“How would you know? It wouldn’t hurt to try--” Claude manages to get his hands on Sylworm’s tail and tugs. 

“Neither of us are going to kiss him because it’s a waste of time. The sooner we can find a professor the better.”

“What’re you so afraid of, Fraldarius?”

_If it’s consent you’re worried about, you guys have my full permission to give me the biggest, fattest kisses in all of Fodlan,_ Sylworm wheezes. He doesn’t know which is tenser, the air between Claude and Felix or his body being stretched out thin by their fists.

Felix finally gives in, shaking his head. “Fine. I’ll kiss him first.” And then man presses his lips against Sylworm’s head so hard that if he had a voice, he would’ve squeaked.

Nothing happens.

“See? I told you it wouldn’t work,” Felix shakes his head. Claude takes Sylworm from him and tries too. Sylworm feels all warm and giddy from the kisses, but other than that...he’s still a worm. 

_Aw, this would’ve been weirdly romantic if it worked._

“Huh,” Claude blinks, “I guess we can go ask Professor Byleth for help, then.”

Sylworm gets to stay in Claude’s cozy front pocket and look around as the three stroll through the monastery in search of Professor Byleth. He notices other brightly colored little worms in other students’ pockets being traded and collected. They pass by Caspar making his worm wiggle around his fingers with a fine thread, and Hilda happily giving a handful to Marianne. How cute. 

Apparently they’re a new trend at Garreg Mach, and only Sothis knows why. A group of girls come over to greet Claude and coo at the little orange toy. Felix stands off to the side to avoid them, crossing his arms. They gush over Sylworm, unaware of his true identity: Sylvain Jose Gautier, the notorious heartthrob of the school. 

Who knew a fake worm with googly eyes is what’ll get girls going?

“Yours is so cute, Claude!” A Golden Deer girl giggles as she admires Sylworm. He has a feeling he’ll only be cute for as long as the trend lasts, and that makes him feel rather...expendable. Perhaps the potion should’ve turned him into a corn dog instead, since girls always want his meat despite having all this bread. Anyways, he vaguely remembers dating this girl last week. She broke up with him and called him all kinds of nasty names, names that are very much the exact _opposite_ of cute. 

_What a hypocrite_ , Sylvworm thinks. But before he can do anything rash, Claude shoves him further down into his pocket just as Seteth passes by. A bunch of confiscated worms hang off of the man’s belt like hunted prey. Both Claude and Felix have a fleeting thought that those worms will never see the light of day ever again. And if Seteth gets his hands on Sylworm, well...they try not to dwell on it.

“Even as a worm, you’re quite the ladies’ man, aren’t you?” The golden prince murmurs humorously once Seteth and the girls finally leave. Sylworm wishes he could roll his eyes at Claude, so he settles for squirming proudly.

_Yep! I still got it._

\-------------------

They find professor Byleth sitting by the pond, getting ready to fish.

Claude and Felix aren’t sure whether or not the professor’s lack of reaction is a good or bad thing, but they seem to be taking the issue seriously enough. It feels like they’re getting closer to solving this at least.

The way Byleth sees it, no problem is too ridiculous nor trivial if it genuinely distresses their students. Sylvain turning into a toy worm doesn’t sound totally odd to them, much to Claude and Felix’s surprise. After all, they’ve got the ghost of an ancient goddess floating around inside their head who grants them the ability to turn back time. They’ve also caught a fish with little legs once. Weirder things happen.

“Do you have any idea how to turn him back, Teach?” Claude asks. He’s just glad the professor isn’t questioning the exact details of how this happened. His potion making hobby lives to see another day.

“I’m not a mage,” Byleth answers simply. Felix huffs impatiently, his fingers drum against the hilt of his sword. 

“Just say you can’t help and we’ll be on our way.”

“We thought that maybe you’ve encountered something like this during your mercenary days, so it was worth a shot to ask,” Claude admits, scratching the back of his head. Byleth peers at Sylworm, and Sylworm peers back pleadingly. 

To the two students, it seems as if there’s some sort of unspoken conversation going on between mercenary and worm. But in reality Byleth is just staring blankly, like they do when they catch someone doing something they shouldn’t in the middle of class. Sylworm gets those looks alot, yet he’s still kind of unnerved.

The professor finally speaks up after a whole minute and a half. “Have you tried kissing Wormvain?” 

“Sylworm--” Claude interjects.

“Apologies. Have you tried kissing Sylworm?”

“I have, and so has Claude,” Felix purses his lips. “What is it with you guys and kissing things?”

“It’s a common way to break curses. Haven’t you read stories using that trope?” Byleth tilts their head. Claude glances at Felix like he’s saying _I told you so_ , and Felix just scoffs.

“I don’t read.”

“How about a kiss from someone he loves?” Byleth continues. 

Claude and Felix look at Sylworm expectantly, waiting for him to somehow reveal who it is... if he even has one. Sylworm pretends to conveniently lose his sentience and act as a regular toy worm to avoid meeting their gazes.

“Well, Sylvain? Do you know anyone who can do that for you?” Claude forgoes the nickname and nudges his limp, fuzzy body with a finger.

  
  
“How is he going to tell us that? He doesn’t have a mouth.” Felix retorts.

“He could dip his snout in some ink and write it down.”

Byleth looks back and forth between the two as they bicker over the most efficient way for a worm to communicate. Then, they look to Sylworm, who is just sitting there. 

“Have you _both_ tried kissing him at the same time?”

“At the same time?” Claude and Felix echo in unison.

“At the same time,” Byleth nods.

_I like the way you think, Professor! We should totally, DEFINITELY give that a try!_ Sylworm fluffs himself up, trying to make himself look extra charming and kissable. This is considered sexy for worms.

“Laying it on thick, aren’t you?” Claude laughs, while Felix purses his lips and looks unimpressed by the display. 

“Do we really have to?”  
  


“It either works or it doesn’t. There’s nothing for you to lose,” Byleth shrugs. That finally persuades Felix to go through with it, and Claude holds Sylworm up for the both of them to kiss.

Because Sylworm is so thin, it’s a little awkward for Claude and Felix, who realize their faces will be dangerously close to each other. Sylworm looks like he’s having the time of his life, at least.

The two students shuffle closer and close their eyes tight, lips puckered to kiss the toy worm.

One...two…!

_Poof!_

Byleth coughs as a cloud of smoke suddenly explodes in front of them. There’s a loud _thud_ and some surprised shouting coming from their students, and they fear the worst has happened. Did Sylvain turn back to normal? Or maybe _all three of them_ turned into worms?

The area clears up soon after. They look down to see Claude and Felix on the ground with Sylvain sprawled on top, limbs tangled among each other.

“Welcome back, Sylvain,” Byleth peers at their students placidly. Sylvain groans, sitting up and patting himself all over. His eyes light up at the realization of what just happened.

“I’m back to normal! Thank you so much Professor!” The redhead laughs and gets to his feet. “You should let me treat you to tea sometime to show you my gratitude, yeah?”

“Hey! We’re the ones who brought you back,” Felix grumbles, slowly sitting up. Sylvain turns to help both of his friends off of the ground with a happy grin. Byleth watches the way the two other students take each of his hands, fingers laced tightly together.

“Yeah, you should be thanking _us_ and inviting _us_ out to tea,” Claude rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile on his face. “It’s good to have you back, Sylvain.”

“Of course!” Sylvain exclaims. “How could I forget about my knights in shining armor? My handsome Prince Charmings? The Beauties to me, a worm-like Beast--”

“That’s enough,” Felix cuts him off in exasperation, cheeks tinted pink.

“But seriously, I’m super grateful,” Sylvain nods earnestly. “I’d really like to repay the favor for you guys somehow. That includes you too, Professor.” He looks to Byleth, who just waves their hand dismissively. 

“It’s no problem, Sylvain. Just try not to turn into a worm again next time.” But of course, they know that the redhead often has a knack for getting into _some_ sort of trouble, so there’s nothing reinforced behind those words.

“Felix and I’ll take you up on that offer,” Claude chirps. “We can have tea and talk about how it took _both of our kisses_ to turn you back. What was up with that, hm?”

He and Felix look at Sylvain, who avoids their stares by looking at Byleth, who looks at all three of them. It’s an awkward, silent moment as they all watch Sylvain open his mouth, close it, and open it again, face flushing red.

“Oh! Would you look at the time. I have somewhere to be,” He abruptly claps his hands together, grins widely, and waves goodbye before hurrying away. “I’ll see you next time for tea, Professor!”

“Sylvain! Come back here!” Felix runs after him. Claude follows as well, but not without laughing and waving to Byleth first.

“Bye Teach! Thanks again for your help!”

Byleth wordlessly waves to the trio as they run off. They look back down at their fishing basket and open it to reveal many vibrant toy worms. Students have been gifting them to the mercenary, half joking about repurposing them to be used as fishing bait. Now that Sylworm has been revealed to be _Sylvain_ , they idly wonder if any of these are people who have been transformed too.

...Most likely not. Byleth attaches one to their hook and casts the line into the pond.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where I was going with this lol, I just wanted to write about Sylworm on a string


End file.
